Make a plan for your get-in-shape resolution
It happens every year around this time. Millions of people make a promise to themselves. But the promise is vague and undefined. They vow, “This year, I’m going to get in shape and lose weight.” But they have no real plan. Within a short time, their vow has been forgotten.
Working out and losing weight are the most common resolutions made during the new year, according to Time Magazine. They’re also the resolutions most frequently broken, because too often, people make these resolutions without seriously thinking about them. They don’t mean they intend to do something to get thinner and fit. They merely mean that they WANT to lose weight, and they WANT to be fit.
The only way to achieve these goals is to make a plan and be dedicated to following it. Begin by looking at the wording of the resolution itself.
Take the phrase ‘get in shape.’ What does it mean? Do you want to be in ‘shape’ to run a marathon or to look good in a bathing suit? Do you wish to be a better athlete or to be stronger? The term ‘get in shape’ has no real meaning unless you define what it means to you. That’s why it’s important to figure out what you mean by it.
The second part of the most frequently made resolution also has little meaning. ‘Lose weight’ probably isn’t an accurate description. What you probably mean is that you want to lose fat. You want be thinner.
Once you define what you mean, it becomes easier to design a plan. Choose a regimen that you can, and will, follow. Don’t vow to go the gym every day and work out for two hours, because that’s just a fantasy. Start with something easy, like working out for one hour three times a week. Get your body accustomed to moving vigorously for a solid hour three times a week.
Schedule your workouts at a convenient time, and regard that time as absolutely sacred. Never skip it because you want to go out with friends or there’s a chore you have to get done. NOTHING should interfere with your scheduled workout time. If you skip it once, it’s just that much easier to postpone it again — and again, until you stop your conditioning program for weeks; maybe even drop it completely.
As you prepare your schedule, also design your workout. Get the right routine for your goal. Which upper-body exercises will you include? How about core movements? Will you do classic free weight exercises like squats and deadlifts, or work with machines? Plan your program.
Now to the ‘lose weight’ part of the resolution. Since you probably mean you want to lose fat — especially fat that makes a muffin top over your tight jeans — you’ll need to change your eating habits. This does NOT mean going on that thing called a ‘diet.’
First, a diet is just a temporary change in eating patterns, and you’ll put that fat back on as soon as you switch back to your previous way of eating. Second, diets are loaded with temptation. There’s always the urge to sneak in some forbidden food, which negates the progress of the fat loss.
The way to lose fat and keep it off is to actually change the way you eat. Make a small change here and there, not a bunch of drastic changes. One method that works is to eat smaller portions. Take a little less gravy, a smaller slice of meat, fewer spoonfuls of mashed potatoes. But never let yourself feel deprived. Have that slice of pie; just make it a smaller piece. Have one scoop of ice cream, not two.
Within a few weeks, both your eyes and stomach will adjust perfectly. In fact, you won’t believe that you could ever once devour the heaping full plates of food you formerly ate. The best thing about this way of changing what you consume is that you lose only fat, not the muscle that’s often lost during a traditional diet.
Follow this plan, and when the next new year comes around, you’ll have to find a different resolution to make. Your body will be fit enough and thin enough to make you happy.